Enza Antenos-Conforti received her Ph.D. in Italian Studies from the University of Toronto. During a brief break from academia, she pursued her passion for technology, working at IBM Canada. She joined Montclair State University in 2004, teaches various language and culture courses and is the teacher education co-ordinator in Italian.
She has published extensively on elementary Italian programs (textbooks, workbooks and self-study guides) in Italica (1998; 2002; 2007). Her publication on the professional preparation of Italian teachers appeared in Foreign Language Annals (2008) and her research on social networking and Web 2.0 technology via Twitter appeared in Calico Monograph 8, The Next Generation: Social Networking and Online Collaboration in Foreign Language Learning (2009).
She continues to explore emerging technologies and their role in foreign language education. Beyond different social networking sites, such as blogs and microblogging, her current investigations examine the potential of personal learning environments and mobile-assisted language learning.
Twitter is multi-faceted social networking took that lends itself to synchronous and asynchronous communication. Twitter can transform social networking into educational networking. In the hands of a skilled teacher, Twitter can be a sound pedagogical tool in any discipline, and it can develop 21st literacy skills. Students can share knowledge, follow experts, converse via questions and discussion, and belong to a community that is not restricted by classroom walls. The conclusions reached in a recent study conducted by Junco, Heibergert and Loken (2010) suggest that using Twitter in educationally relevant ways can increase student engagement and improve grades because of faculty and student engagement in the learning process through communication and connections on Twitter. Twitter provides the platform for authentic communication with peers and teachers, and it can help motivate learners too.
References:
E. Antenos-Conforti (2009). Microblogging on Twitter in the Intermediate Italian Classroom. The Next Generation: Social Networking and Online Collaboration in Foreign Language Learning (Calico Monograph Series) Link:http://chss.montclair.edu/~antenose/mytwitter.pdf
For other presentations given for teacher professional development, visit Slideshare
Twitter as a Tool for Language Instruction
Tweets are self-perpetuating and generative, and create organic learning communities that can facilitate deeper knowledge, better communication and new connections. This workshop will help instructors identify the potential of Twitter to facilitate learning by creating an account and working with its website; identifying different ideas to using Twitter in education; working with hashtags, lists and realtime searches; creating a personal learning network; and using desktop and mobile applications.
She has published extensively on elementary Italian programs (textbooks, workbooks and self-study guides) in Italica (1998; 2002; 2007). Her publication on the professional preparation of Italian teachers appeared in Foreign Language Annals (2008) and her research on social networking and Web 2.0 technology via Twitter appeared in Calico Monograph 8, The Next Generation: Social Networking and Online Collaboration in Foreign Language Learning (2009).
She continues to explore emerging technologies and their role in foreign language education. Beyond different social networking sites, such as blogs and microblogging, her current investigations examine the potential of personal learning environments and mobile-assisted language learning.
Link to presentation
A new link to share:
Guide to Twitter in the K-8 classroom
Link:
http://langwitches.org/blog/2011/08/27/guide-to-twitter-in-the-k-8-classroom/
References:
E. Antenos-Conforti (2009). Microblogging on Twitter in the Intermediate Italian Classroom. The Next Generation: Social Networking and Online Collaboration in Foreign Language Learning (Calico Monograph Series)
Link: http://chss.montclair.edu/~antenose/mytwitter.pdf
K.A. Johnson (2011). The effect of Twitter posts on students' perceptions of instructor credibility. Learning, Media & Technology.
Link: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439884.2010.534798
R. Junco, G. Heiberger & E. Loken (2010). The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.
Link: blog.reyjunco.com/pdf/JuncoHeibergerLokenTwitterEngagementGrades.pdf
E. Mischaud (2007). Twitter: Expressions of the Whole Self. MSc in Politics and Communication (London School of Economics and Political Science).
Link: www2.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/.../Mishaud_Final.pdf
For other presentations given for teacher professional development, visit Slideshare
Twitter ID: iVenus